For the Love of
by SilverWolf7
Summary: Jarlaxle and Ilnezhara's strange relationship causes problems for the city of Heliogabalus.  Entreri and his drow guest find Jarlaxle at last, and Ilnezhara couldn't be more thrilled.
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer - I don't own any of these characters, with the exception of the randomly generated city guards or townspeople. They all belong to R. A. Salvatore and/or Wizards of the Coast.

Notes - Alright, for those of you who haven't yet read Wickless in the Nether, this will make little to no sense, and will have quite a few spoilers, so read at your own discretion. You have been warned. Oh boy, have you ever.

For the Love of.....

Artemis Entreri had had enough of dragons to last him two lifetimes, yet every time he happened to reach his and Jarlaxle's apartment one, sometimes even two of them were there.

He much preferred the older looking one of the two copper dragon sisters, Tazmikella and, regardless of her finding him practical there was no way in the Nine Hells he would sleep with her.

Something that he couldn't say the same of Jarlaxle who had taken Tazmikella's sister's words and touches to heart, and had been sleeping with the younger looking dragon, Ilnezhara. Something that seemed to please the damned drow to no end.

As Entreri made his lonely way up the back stairs to their apartment on the second floor of a building in Heliogabalus, he quickly listened at the door, before moving in to the brightly lit apartment.

Usually Entreri would find his companion up at this time of night, going over riddles or maps that one of the two dragons would have given them the the day before. This day however was different. Jarlaxle lay on top of his bed, splayed out atop the covers, looking to be in a deep sleep. Entreri was extremely thankful that the drow was still clothed, a testament that meant that it must have been either Tazmikella that visited them this night, or they were being given a break from the rotten presence of a dragon for the day.

Jarlaxle stirred a bit and raised his head to look in his direction. The drow sighed in what Artemis could say was nothing short of relief. "I thought you might have been Ilnezhara come to play again..." He muttered, before rolling over and getting to his feet.

Artemis smirked. So, even Jarlaxle had his limits. That made him feel so much better. Taking a seat at the round table off to one side of the apartment, he picked up the flute there and glared at it. Discretion he could do. Yes, he can even work for dragons, though he didn't really like the beasts. But there was no way that he would learn to play the flute just to amuse a copper coloured fiend.

"Perhaps you should learn to play it." Jarlaxle said behind him. Entreri shook his head and put the instrument back down. He continued glaring at the piece of offensive driftwood.

The drow came about to his front, taking the seat opposite him. Perhaps it was the tired look in Jarlaxle's eye, or maybe the look that he kept on shooting towards the flute, something that was supposed to be magical in some way, but the whole scene was suddenly one of the funniest things ever. He chuckled.

"I do not see what is so funny?" Jarlaxle stated, folding his arms across his chest and glaring at the human in front of him.

"Tired? What's wrong, Jarlaxle? A dragon too much for you and your otherwise insatiable sexual appetite?"

Entreri was met with a scowl from the drow. "This coming from someone who's so called 'appetite' does not exist. What is wrong, Artemis? Jealous?"

Entreri couldn't help it. Much like the first time he said it, and all the times afterwards, it was the one sentence that had some kind of emotional impact behind it. "She's a dragon!"

"Something that you seem to say a lot of lately?! So what! It isn't like they are like the red we faced before. No, you just can't see past one fact! She does have a human form, you know. One that happens to be extremely attractive."

"What in the Nine Hells did I do to ever meet you?!" Entreri growled, finally had it with the drow in front of him.

"You happened to hate Drizzt Do'Urden if I remember correctly." Jarlaxle stated, leaning back in the seat he was in, his hand that still had its magical bracer that the endless throwing knives he had came from, seemed to relax slightly, but Entreri knew that it was in perfect position to ready a knife to throw.

"Oh? How about after that? Or the time I was back home and you decided to suddenly 'procure' my help with Bregan D'aerthe? I think we both remember how well that worked out."

Artemis saw sparks of anger jump into Jarlaxle's eyes at that and it was then he realised something. While the two of them constantly bickered with each other, they had never, with the one exception inside the Crystal Shard, fought with each other. Physically, or verbally.

Jarlaxle turned about and headed for the door, slamming it closed as he left the small apartment to parts unknown.

Entreri thought that he might have gone too far. After all, the drow had saved his life more than once, but he had returned the favour. That comment had been absolutley stupid! Jarlaxle never mentioned it, but while Entreri knew that there had to still be some contact with the band, as Jarlaxle did say he would return one day, he knew that his companion missed it to some extent.

Shaking his head, he went over to his own bed and collapsed on top of it. He was almost asleep when he heard the door open. It was enough to wake him up.

Turning about, an apology he never thought he would ever utter on his lips, he closed his mouth quickly when he realised that it wasn't Jarlaxle standing in the doorway, but the drow's rather fetching lover in her human form.

Growling slightly at the intrusion, he barked out a short question. "What?!"

"Where is my pretty little drow?" She asked, eyeing the rumpled sheets of the one in questions bed.

"He ran off." Entreri muttered, before pointing to the door. "That way. Go find him if you want. I care not."

Ilnezhara ran her sharp, and rather large, eyes about the room, their blue depths coming to lay on the flute she had given Entreri after their deal had been made. Anger momentarily flitted across her face. "Learn it!" She stated, before leaving him in peace.

Soon, he had left his bed, too angry himself to sleep. He spent the night playing target practice with the silhouette of Jarlaxle that was painted above his bed.

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Jarlaxle was not paying much attention to his surroundings, something rare for the ever wary drow, and so was taken by surprise when arms grabbed him from behind and dragged him into an alleyway he had been too preoccupied thinking to notice existed.

He struggled in the grip he was in, but he was held too tightly. He couldn't break free. His exclamation of surprise and sudden anger at himself to be so stupid as to drop his guard for even a minute, was muffled by a hand that appeared about his mouth.

His head was pushed back by a hand at his throat and he found himself glaring at one of the city guards. Surprise momentarily took hold of him. So far, he had run into no problems in the city. Of course, he did steal the odd gold or silver piece to help build on the two dragons' hoards, but apart from that...

A heavy hand hit him atop the head and his thoughts were scattered as he just tried to stay conscious. Another blow and his eyes rolled into his head and he collapsed, darkness taking him.

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Ilnezhara curled up about her hoard, her huge body curving about the gold she loved so much. But now she had added two more precious items to her hoard, two that she would normally not keep because of their nature.

For once though, she couldn't find it in herself to get rid of them. They were Jarlaxle's, and there was something about that drow that called to her, something she had never thought she would ever feel. If she didn't know any better, she would say that she had found herself a life mate.

Glancing down at the two coppery eggs she was folded lightly against, she wondered at this strange sensation. Not only would these two wyrmlings not only be half dragon, but also half drow.

Even more strange was the fact that she was the mother of them. Usually male dragons would be the ones to go out and mate with other species, leaving the female creature pregnant.

She couldn't help but wonder if this meant the children would take more after their father, or herself.

Her sides heaved as she sighed, sending some of her more lighter treasures dancing out of reach. A coppery nose reached out to touch hers. Tazmikella had wanted to see what had captured her sister's attention so much, she rarely now left her home.

Ilnezhara had wanted to tell Jarlaxle tonight, but when she had reached the apartment he shared with that boring human, he had not been there. Going out on to the streets to find him, she had come up with no drow.

Jarlaxle seemed to have disappeared. She needed to find him, if for no other reson to tell him that he had borne her two children. Her first clutch.

A/N - Oh. My. God! This story is a direct result of reading Wickless in the Nether and watching Shrek 2 afterwards, lol. Therefore, it is so not going to happen, but boy did it have me laughing. I loved every time Entreri muttered, or stated, quite profusely that "She's a dragon!" Just as I loved Donkey saying "Look at our mutant babies!"

...At the same time, I couldn't help but notice that Jarlaxle and Ilnezhara made quite the...fetching, yet strange, couple. Come on, they both love their jewels and gold, lol. Or so it seems in my humble opinion. Of course, a dragon would be much better at the art of hoarding, so why would Tazmikella and Ilnezhara want Jarlaxle and Entreri in the first place?

This story, amazingly enough, is not meant to be a comedy, but rather a...drama of sorts. Just me and my rambling thoughts trying to come up with a reason to why two copper dragons would need help with making their hoards bigger.

Alright, truthfully I have always wanted an excuse to write a story involving Jarlaxle and dragons, ever since I read Servant of the Shard, and it seemed that red dragons were one of the few things that Jarlaxle feared. And where there are copper dragons...


	2. Chapter Two

For the Love of....

Chapter Two

The first thing he noticed as he woke was that his head was aching. As he opened his eyes, the next thing he noticed was that he was sitting in a prison cell.

Jarlaxle felt like moaning, but didn't, keeping what little pride he had left in his abilities to himself. He shook his head instead, wincing as it shot pain through his skull. Thankfully, the room didn't start spinning and he didn't feel nauseous, so he ruled out having a concussion.

That didn't stop him from feeling like rothe dung, however.

He looked about his prison for a bit, noticing that it was only him in there. The room was small, but not uncomfortably so. Strange for a cell, but at least he was thankful for a bed to sleep in, and a window so he could at least get a look outside every now and then.

His belongings were gone, his jewellry stripped from him, even his clothing had been changed into a plain tunic and breeches of a light brownish colour that made him wince. They could have at least put him in clothes of a better colour than these ugly things...

The worst thing about the wholesituation was that it left him hopeless, helpless. He was without his normal magical items, his only true defence left him since leaving Bregan D'aerthe in the capable hands of Kimmuriel. He didn't like the feeling at all!

A click of a lock was heard, making Jarlaxle jump slightly. Either the room had sound proof walls, or he had once again been too preoccupied to hear the coming footsteps. He was hoping for the former. To be taken by surprise twice in what he hoped was one day, was not a good thing at all.

A young woman entered, carrying a tray with a roll of bread and some dried fruits. Usually, he would much rather something not so plain to eat, but he was hungry. Incentive enough for him not to eat the small amount of food on the tray.

After all, what people in the world, or in this case under it, were better aquainted with poisons and food, or drink, then the drow?

"It's not poisoned. If my Lord wanted you dead, you would not be locked up in a cell." The woman, obviously a maid to this Lord fellow stated, placing the tray on the ground before the bed, before going back out the rooand locking the door behind her with an almighty click of finality.

He didn't hear her footsteps as she walked away. He sighed in some form of relief. So, the walls were soundproof, even to his elven hearing.

He looked to the food, picking up the roll, before sniffing it. He knew that it wouldn't help if it had been poisoned, but his stomach didn't care. Sighing and now cursing himself for skipping meals for the day, he slowly ate the small meal and hoped it hadn't been tampered with.

Thankfully, nothing did. The girl hadn't been lying. The food was not poisoned.

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He must have fallen asleep, even after he had thought the act improbable with the mood he had been in the night before. His eyes opened and his hand immediately lifted to the wall where his dagger usually stayed.

"Come now. You don't want to kill me, do you?" Tazmikella stated, before handing him the life stealing dagger.

He snatched the deadly weapon back, not missing the buzz of energy that usually took place when he had opened a wound, no matter how small or slight. He knew that he would never use that power of his trademark weapon on the dragon in front of him.

"What do you want?!" He asked, as he slammed the weapon a little too forcefully back into its spot on the wall above his head.

Tazmikella stared down at him, her eyes showing anger towards him, before going back to their normal look. "Come with me!"

Artemis sighed and shook his head. He knew he had no choice in the matter and so it was a very irritated assassin turned bounty hunter who left his apartment with the dragon.

They headed towards the tower that was the home of Ilnezhara. He growled deeply, which made the creature masquerading as a human beside him chuckle. Tazmikella used a key she had to open the door. He was not surprised when thhe constucts of the two men and two women didn't attack.

The 'older' of the two sisters took him directly to the secret door where Ilnezhara's horde was kept and ushered him inside. Once again he paused to look about the gold and jewels that were piled into high mountains of glowing golden beauty. If he was as greedy as his partner, he would have loved this place.

Even the large copper dragon that was sitting over to one side probably wouldn't be a deterrent to the drow. Even as Ilnezhara looked in his direction, blue eyes staring straight through him, he knew that he was extremely glad that he was not so...hung up on material possesions as Jarlaxle was.

"Where is he?" Ilnezhara asked, her voice not so different as when she was in her polymorphed state and looked human.

"I have no idea where he is. Like I said yesterday, he stormed off to parts unknown and never came back last night. We...got into a rather stupid argument."

"You scared him away?!" Roared the now angry dragon. Entreri snorted.

"No. He was angry. I was angry. Not a good combination." He stated, going over to a piece of floor not covrered in gold and sat down. It brought him dangerously close to the sharp teeth of the dragon's head, but at that moment he did not care. If he could fight a red and live, a copper dragon would be no problem...

It was then that something interesting caught his eye. He quickly jumped to his feet and went to the dragons side. His eyes widened at the two eggs he saw therebefore running his hand down his face. Just brilliant! No wonder Ilnezhara wanted to find Jarlaxle.

"Do not touch my eggs!" Growled Ilnezhara, and, turning slightly to one side, he noticed that the head of the beast was turned in his direction.

He snorted, before shrugging. Not the best of moves, as that gaping mouth opened and began to take a deep breath. Once again, a cloud of slow gas was breathed his way, but this time he hadn't dodged out of the way quick enough to dodge the most of it.

He decided that it was best just to stay still rather than try to run away in slow motion, which would make him feel more foolish than he already did. He didn't know how long the spell would lastbut sat back down, slowly of couurse, right beside the two copper coloured eggs.

He stared at them now, seeing as how they were the first dragon eggs he had ever really had the time to look at. Inside grew two abomonitions...or at least two half-dragons. He wondered if they would grow up feeling hated, or loved, as it was quite clear that Ilnezhara was going to keep them.

That Jarlaxle was the father seemed quite fitting in Entreri's mind. It was bound to happen at some time, though, like with all Elven people, conception was rare. A thing to be treasured for most Elf types, apart from the drow...who wanted nothing more than to fill their houses with females and Priestesses of Lloth as possible, and turning all males into a veritable fighting machine, either with weapon or magic.

Entreri wondered how Jarlaxle would like the thought of becoming a father, and better yet, to two children that also happened to be born of a dragon?

Oh, things were going to become quite interesting. Therre was no doubt about that.

The slow spell soon wore off and, with a quirky smile that he was not used to feeling on his own face, he turned back towards the maw of Ilnezhar and said what was on his mind.

"Alright. I will help you find the missing drow."

A/N - Woohoo! There are people out there who actually _like_ this story. You people rule!

A fan - Well, it is always good to have a fan or two, lol. Here is more, as requested!

Ariel D - I love your new story by the way. I can't wait until you get to the, uh, hair raising part, hehe. Yes, I am a fan of your Road to Redemption series, but my computer freezes every time I try to review anything, at LE or here, so I am telling you here instead that I love your stories.

Uh...are you writing another three stories after The Face of a God, or is this new one, one of them?

Oh and thanks for the review. I am glad that you liked this story. One of the very few drama/humour stories in existence. You knew I would eventually get to it, lol.

Ininil - ...Well, apparently, not onlyI had thought of Jarlaxle with a dragon...I just had never thought of it in this context until I read Wickless in the Nether. I am glad that this story captured you. That is what ti was supposed to do. At least some people actually liked it, yourself included. Thanks for sayign so by the way. Here is the next chapter, I hope you enjoyed it.


	3. Chapter Three

For the Love of....

Chapter Three

The walk home was cold and wet but Entreri enjoyed it anyway. The rain wasn't the heavy downpour it had been the past few weeks, more a light sprinkling, and it felt good against his skin.

He hoped that he would find Jarlaxle sitting up at the desk looking over cryptic riddles and clues once again, but he doubted that. He stopped his walking to think on why that thought had popped into his head in the first place.

With a small shake of his head, he began his walking again, lifting his face and closing his eyes, letting the gently falling rain ease the sudden fear that something bad had happened to Jarlaxle.

What did he care if the drow was bleeding somewhere in a gutter about the city? He frowned sharply when his mind told him something he didn't want to believe. He did care.

When in their travels together had he stopped and taken down his defences and decided that it would be a good idea to have a friend? If he thought of Jarlaxle that way at all, that is? When had he decided that dropping the shield of ice, the thing that had kept emotions out of his life since....well, since he had been a young boy, would be a good idea?

Why Jarlaxle of all people?! He would be quite happy right now to be sitting down in the Copper Ante talking about what was so wrong with his life with Dwahvel listening quietly in a seat not too far away. Now that had been a good...friendship?

With an angry sigh, he reached the apartment he shared with the flamboyant drow and stepped inside. He stopped and stared at the one sitting at the small table, playing no tune that was good for the ears on the flute he left there.

"What are you doing here?" He asked of the drow.

His only reply was a glare that could melt ice and could kill him if he wasn't careful.

With a heavy sigh, he sat himself down in the chair opposite the drow and shook his head. Could this day possible get worse?!

"Where is Jarlaxle?" He was asked, making him bang his head against the table. His earlier question had been answered.

It could get worse.

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The fist flew for his face and reached its mark yet again, giving him a bleeding nose. Still, his eyes were practically swollen shut from the punches and he was sure that his right cheekbone was broken.

Well, looking on the bright side, while it hurt, at least his nose wasn't broken.

"I don't know? I have told you that already!" Jarlaxle stated, his voice slightly slurred from the punch he had taken in the jaw not too long ago.

"Don't lie drow. I have been told of reports from nearby villages that surface raids by your kind are becoming more and more common." Gareth Dragonsbane replied to his answer, halting the next fist that was raised to hit him.

Jarlaxle sighed loudly, the small action causing a little pain. "Just because I am drow, does not mean I know everything that is going on. I have not lived in the Underdark for a while now and am not native to this region even if I did! I know nothing!"

The King's eyes narrowed and Jarlaxle bent over double as one of the beefy hands of his tormentor crashed into his stomach, pushing all air out of his lungs, leaving him gasping.

"Perhaps we should call in a wizard friend of mine to see if you speak the truth." Gareth turned towards one of the guards and told him to go and fetch someone called Gerome.

Jarlaxle let them go fetch the pet wizard, knowing he was telling the truth. For once in his long life, it was the only way out of trouble.

A few long minutes passed by in an uncomfortable blur to the drow mercenary who, as a direct result of the muscled man in front of him, standing to one side of the King, was quite sore and bruised.

The wizard surprised him. Tall, powerfully built and with a hardened look about him, he looked more to be a fighter than a magic user. The long flowing blue robes that were catered to wizards nearly everywhere suggested that despite appearances, he was what he is said to be.

"Ready your truth spell." Gareth ordered and after a quick series of gestures and a hastily spoken spell, Jarlaxle felt as the spell, usually something that would not work on him with his tricks in place, begin to work itself in his mind. His whole body relaxed as it began to truly work.

"Ask your questions, my Lord." Gerome stated, smiling at the power he held over the small dark elf.

"Same question as before! What do you know of the raids?!"

"I know nothing of the raids." Jarlaxle answered, not too happy with the sudden monotony of his voice.

"How long have you been living on the surface?"

"About....seven months as a...semi permanent resident. About a year since I have been on the surface." He didn't wish to say these things and hoped to the Gods that the spell would wear off soon.

"Define semi permanent. What did you mean?"

"I...I am, or was at any rate, the leader of a band of rogue drow." Alright, now he knew he was saying too much, but any attempts at trying to resist the spell proved useless. "I shipped myself and some of my band to the surface to try and begin a trade route. It...didn't go as planned. A coup was started and I fled with a human friend. I was planning on going back one day. Hence semi permanent."

"Your human friend..he is still alive? He is the one whom you are living with?"

"Yes."

"And the two women? Who are they?"

Now the questions were getting dangerous for him to answer. If he let it slip that they were....he pushed the thought out of his head, just in case. "Business associates." He answered, knowing that to at least be true to some degree.

"And their names?"

"Ilnezhara and Tazmikella."

"What are your relationships with them like?

"Tazmikella is a business partner strictly, though I think she likes Artemis. Ilnezhara is...my lover."

He felt when the spell began to wear off and, to his embarrassment, he blushed at just saying what Ilnezhara is to him. Thankfully his dark skin covered that so nobody could tell.

"The spell is wearing off, Sire." Gerome stated suddenly.

"Thank you, friend. You may leave." The wizard did as he was bid.

Gareth then turned his sights back onto him, and Jarlaxle didn't particularly like the look he was given. "It seems you were telling the truth after all...Guards! Take him back to his cell."

Before he was lifted bodily from the dreadfully positioned chair he had been in, the man in front of him punched him one last time. A shock of pain so intense shot from his cheek and outwards covering his whole head. Inside and out. The stupid guard had hit him on his already broken cheekbone.

He opened his mouth as if to scream, but he didn't. He wouldn't give the smug bastard the pleasure.

It had been far too long since the last time he had been tortured. He had forgotten how much it could hurt! Still, these humans were not as good at the art of torture, unlike the drow.

He was bodily picked up, his mind focused on the pain and dropped a while later on the bed in a now familiar cell.

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Tazmikella shifted slightly, her draconic body moving more than she would have wished. She was curled up next to a sleeping Ilnezhara and didn't want to wake her sister.

A slight rumble of a growl came from the other dragon, but she stayed asleep, possibly not because of her movement but because of bad dreams.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that Ilnezhara was worried for the little drow she had taken as a lover. Tazmikella was beginning to think her sister missed the drow more than she should.

She had kept the eggs after all. A feat that would normally only happen if they were fully dragon, or were given to another being to look after.

With a heavy sigh, she closed her eyes and leaned closer to the body of her sister. If she could do one thing for Ilnezhara it was comfort her.

After all, it wasn't as though she wanted to battle to the death with her.

A/N - Allrighty! Another chapter of this story up! Hope you people still enjoy it. This will be the last post from me for at least two weeks. I have been updating regularly lately, haven't I (pats herself on the back). AH well, Merry Christmas, or holiday season if you don't celebrate Christmas (I don't, though I don't anythign else either. The meaning has been lost.)


	4. Chapter Four

For the Love of...

Chapter Four?

"I will not ask again, what are you doing here?" Entreri asked of the handsome drow sitting at the table.

"Truly, you have no concept of how utterly I can destroy you," stated Kimmuriel, who seemed smug in his ability to kill with a mere thought.

"Of course I do. I just don't know where Jarlaxle has disappeared to, therefore cannot help you, therefore I want to know what in the Nine Hells you are doing here!"

Kimmuriel for his part didn't seem too surprised and with a flick of his ebon wrist, sent the driftwood flute he had been playing with gently back onto the table. "I have...business with him. You may or may not be aware, but we meet once every tenday and he was supposed to call me yesterday but did not."

Entreri snorted. He knew that Jarlaxle had been in constant contact with Bregan D'aerthe, but he had managed to keep these meetings out of his way. He had been thankful for that, as he had never intended on meeting another drow himself ever again. "I have not seen him in over a day. He took off one night in a fit of temper and has not yet returned."

Kimmuriel just looked at him and grabbed at the flute again. "You have not tried to find him? How very loyal of you," the dark elf smirked, before blowing into the flute once again, bringing forth a few notes before throwing it back to the table.

"I did try. We could not find him." Entreri didn't know if Kimmuriel was aware of their...business partners, or their race for that matter, but it mattered not. For all intents and purposes Jarlaxle had disappeared.

"We? Interesting. Any theories? He would have called if he was able."

Entreri nodded shortly. He did have one theory. That people had begun to talk about a drow being in town and the King had been a bit interested in why. "Perhaps he was kidnapped by the King's men and taken to Gareth. You could find him there if you tried couldn't you?"

Kimmuriel grinned and nodded and Entreri had to stop the sudden impulse to slam his fist into the smug drow's face. A look of concentration passed onto Kimmuriel's handsome face, but vanished soon after.

"I need a focus. Something of his to use to find him," Kimmuriel stated and Entreri sighed.

"Then come with me. I know where we could find something," he stated and walked to the door, hoping Ilnezhara would not think him rude for barging into her tower again, with a strange drow in tow.

The trip was longer than it usually was and all the while Entreri's thoughts were spilling over each other in a jumbled mess in his mind. He could not focus properly, and he didn't understand why. He was always able to keep focused. Perhaps it was Kimmuriel's doing? Though he didn't feel the gentle pressure on his mind that usually came when the drow tried to read his thoughts. His gauntlet usually would prevent such attacks, but he had left that at the apartment, as he would go with the drow.

As he reached the tower door, he gave his head a gentle shake and knocked. It was Tazmikella who greeted them.

"Have you found him yet? Ilnezhara is brooding over his loss and it is quite a bit much to behold," stated the older of the two dragon sisters.

"No, but help is at hand," he replied, waving a hand to where Kimmuriel hopefully stood, and waving the drow, who had been made invisible due to a ring one one finger, inside.

When he heard the softly lilting voice say he was inside, Entreri followed and closed the door behind him. Kimmuriel immediately became visible and Tazmikella stared at him for a few minutes before nodding. "How are you able to help?" she asked of him.

Kimmuriel gave that smirk again and opened with a mere thought a dimentional door to the room that Entreri and Jarlaxle had been staying in. "Psionics."

Tazmikella's face lit up at the thought, before she began walking towards the secret door that held Ilnezhara's treasure hoard. Entreri couldn't help but roll his eyes at the actions of the younger dragon. She was acting like a love-sick fool!

"She is not human," came the voice of Kimmuriel beside him and he nodded.

"Dragon. Copper dragons the both of them. One happens to be infatuated with Jarlaxle and he at the moment is returning those feelings."

Kimmuriel rolled his eyes at that. "Of course,"

Entreri couldn't help the small smile that played around his lips. Something he and Kimmuriel had in common! Who would have ever thought such a feat possible! Still when Ilnezhara came into view, the drow's eyes almost popped out of his head and the repeated mumble of "of course," was heard softly coming from his direction.

Entreri couldn't help but snicker lightly. Ilnezhara had had a similar effect on him and he prided himself on his control when it came to desire. He had soon shaken the feeling away though when he had learnt of her true form.

"A psionicist, how charming! Please, come in. I have a few things of his he deemed fit good enough to gift me without giving me any of his marvellous magical trinkets!"

She led the way to that secret compartment and opened the door to the magically huge room and stepped inside, her body transforming into that of her dragon shape as she was fully inside. Perhaps it put her more in tune with her treasure, or perhaps it was natural for her to be in that form in this room, but the impression it had on Kimmuriel looked to be the same as he had had. Kimmuriel seemed to like dragons about as much as he did.

"Ah, here we are. A nice gold trinket for you to use," she stated, holding up with a sharp claw a necklace that glittered nicely in the room. She held it out and smiled a smile full of teeth.

Seeing as how Kimmuriel was shooting him looks, the assassin rolled his eyes and took the necklace himself. "You'll get it back when we are done with it," he said, seeing the steely glint come into the dragons eyes.

Looking around himself, the drow scowled. "This could be any dragons lair. I will take Entreri with me, but will return with Jarlaxle to their apartment. I have that small placed memorised."

Both he and Ilnezhara nodded at that, not wanting them to end up in the lair of a fierce red dragon, especially as they didn't know how Jarlaxle was health wise. "I will meet you there," the dragon replied, quickly turning back into her human form and exiting the room.

Naturally, Entreri kept his mind off stealing any of the treasure around them and handed the piece of jewellery to Kimmuriel.

He watched that look of concentration come over the drow's face, before a smile lit up his black features and he opened a portal to be right near Jarlaxle. Entreri stepped through first, followed by the psionicist himself.

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He knew what pain felt like. He was a drow and had been tortured plenty of times before, but he had never before had his cheek broken so badly that every tiny movement would send daggers through his face and head. He had thought he had known what pain was.

He tried to focus on the man in front of him, but one eye was completely swollen shut and the other was close enough to it that to see anything in front of him, he had to tilt his head to an ungodly angle. This was definitely a new level of pain.

"I did not mean for you to get so badly hurt. I just wanted to know what you knew about the raids. Since you do know nothing, I will let you go."

Jarlaxle would have raised his eyebrows in surprise if he was able, but since he seemed to not have the ability, he coughed instead. The action made him cringe. "Let me go?" he asked, in just an experimentation to see how much talking hurt. It sent tiny daggers of bone to jab at the side of his face and he grimaced through the sharp pain.

"Perhaps I should get a healer in here...though I doubt any would want to heal you. I am sorry again that this was taken so far."

He would have answered out loud, but instead just shrugged. At least that didn't hurt too much.

"Your things will be given back to you in short order. One of my men is fetching that...hat of yours."

Jarlaxle smiled before before he could stop himself. He had to close his eyes or pass out because of the move, but it had been almost natural to him. The world seemed to fall into two categories: people who liked his hat, and those who didn't. The same went for his jewellery and clothing, though his styles to the latter had changed to a surface style to his liking. He wasn't as stared at as much, he found.

Almost as soon as the sentence was finished, a guard came in carrying his things, which he was more grateful for than he would ever say. Without his magical items, both for protection and offensive attacks, he felt naked. And not in the good way Ilnezhara made him feel. No, in a vulnerable kind of way.

He didn't bother putting the items on, just clutched at them, holding them close to his chest. It wasn't much, but he felt a little better for the action.

The guard left after making sure his Lord was alright and closed the heavy door behind him from a request of the King.

Just in time too. By the time the door was shut a glowing from the corner of his still open eye caught his attention and he was shocked to find a dimentional door opening in the cell. As he watched Entreri stepped into the room, followed closely by Kimmuriel.

"Entreri, Kimmuriel, what a pleasant surprise. I was just about to leave when you two came to my rescue," he stated, before remembering it wasn't a good idea to speak. He spent a minute or two writhing in pain, so unbecoming of him.

"We had to get help from your dragon paramour, but I was able to find you," Kimmuriel stated in a matter-of-fact voice.

Gareth who had just been staring at the intrusion immediately stiffened at the word dragon. "What is this about? Your lover...you said she was a business partner, but skipped the part about her being a dragon!"

Jarlaxle made himself look small and vulnerable, which wasn't hard as at that moment against the human he was both. "Please don't hurt her, or her sister. They aren't bad, they are copper dragons. Go look it up, they are part of the good dragon family. If a little...mischievous."

His pain didn't bother him as much now, as he was more worried about Ilnezhara than himself. What if the King decided to kill the two sisters. He did after all have a reputation of doing so.

"Did I say something wrong?" asked Kimmuriel in his thickly accented common. He didn't sound sorry if he had said something he shouldn't have, of which he did. With a shrug and a small smile the drow psionicist answered an unsaid question.

"They are copper dragons and did not seem overly vicious. In fact, they seemed pleased to help, though there was that threat of imminent death if we did not return the necklace, but no one steals from a dragon."

The angry king turned a glare to Kimmuriel. "I don't suppose you know anything about the recent raids here?"

With a shake of his head, Kimmuriel shrugged, the angry expression fading slowly from Gareth's face.

"Go then, all of you, and I will be keeping an eye on these dragons of yours," stated the somewhat defeated ruler, before he exited the room and left them to their own devices, confused as to how easily another drow made it into his keep.

Jarlaxle turned his gaze to his rescuers and tried to smile. The pain that had disappeared made itself known again and he closed his eyes to keep from making it worse.

He was picked up by Entreri and the dimention door disappeared, replaced a few seconds later by another.

As soon as they reached the other side, stepping into their apartment, he was taken out of the ex-assassin's hands and into a familiar powerful grip. Without thinking, his arms wrapped themselves around the shoulders of Ilnezhara's human form.

He didn't ever want to let go.

A/N - Updated, yay! Heh, sorry it took so long, but this chapter was rewritten so many times, but most of the other versions (alright ALL the other versions) ended with me hitting a brick wall. I suppose that is what I get for not planning my stories beforehand.

This I can go with, and it was fun to write Kimmuriel, though I may have botched the characters more than usual in this chapter.

Thanks go to my reviewers. I hope you are still reading.


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